Entries in Nissan GT-R
(2)

It's hard to believe that Nissan's GT-R began its life as a relatively large (for Japan) sedan powered by an inline six, but it did. A product of Prince Motors, the Skyline stretched the nose of the company's family sedan just enough to wedge the six into a slot usually occupied by a four. Its debut in the 1964 Japanese Grand Prix's GT 2 race and stirred the souls of many a Japanese youngster. What other Japanese car can claim to have diced with a Porsche 904 Carrera GT, a late race entry, in its racing debut? -- CAS

Nissan calls the Juke an “Urban Sports Cross”, which suggests it’s more at home zipping around downtown roads, traveling from loft to work to urban hangout to mountain bike trail and back again. The Juke is aimed at young professionals with active lifestyles…and other predictable marketing B.S. that I won’t bore you with here. A derivative of what Nissan-Renault calls its “Global B Platform,” the Juke has the ground clearance and higher seating height of a crossover coupled to a turbocharged 1.6-liter inline four and sport-tuned suspension and steering. It’s an interesting combination, but not totally unique. The Mini Countryman follows a similar path, and like the Juke, it offers both front- and all-wheel-drive versions while adding the option of a non-turbocharged variant. However, the Countryman is more than $5,000 more expensive than a comparably equipped Juke. That difference is more than enough to make half the lease payments on the Nissan.